DDC Research, Decision Data Collection, Inc. Fredericksburg, Va.

The online or internet survey methodology is now the most frequently used research method in survey and market research, having surpassed the telephone interviewing method over the past several years. Online surveys can represent a low cost, powerful, timely research tool, when applied under the right conditions.

DDC Research has a full array of online survey software. Our software has all of the bells and whistles available for today’s internet surveys. Question/response formats are attractive and easy to construct with minimal effort. Skip logic is powerful and allows full testing before the survey proper is initiated. Data are automatically tabulated real-time during the course of the survey. Clients may log into the system at any time to view survey results in colorful bar graphs, pie charts, and other graphics to track study progress at any time from their own offices. Final data are easily downloaded into a variety of DDC statistical packages for conducting even the most complex of statistical analyses.

DDC RESEARCH: ADVANCED ONLINE SURVEY CAPABILITIES

There are certain, large scale, multi-faceted, real-time online surveys that standard online survey packages do not adequately address. One of DDC’s long term, and most valued customers, required such an “outside the box” solution. The principal challenge confronting the research was not the real-time collection, of large volumes of data, but rather the real-time compilation and analysis of large volumes of data overall for headquarters staff, region by region for regional directors, district by district for district managers, and store by store for store managers.
The primary challenge was that only HQ staff were to be allowed to view corporate totals for the entire country. Each regional leader was to be allowed only to see full results from within his or her region, with aggregate scores being provided for all other regions for comparison purposes. District leaders could view detailed real-time data within their own district, but only aggregate data for the other districts. And, the same for each of the nearly 1,000 store managers. Each store manager was allowed to review customer satisfaction ratings and feedback only for their own particular store, with aggregate store ratings being provided for comparison purposes.

All of this was required in real-time. Customer data entering the system at an individual given store was automatically compiled and analyzed to update data for that store, but also for that district, and also for that region, and also for the nationwide total HQ performance ratings. With more than 100,000 interviews coming in from nearly 1,000 stores, the real-time computations were immense and involved thousands and thousands of Store, District, Region, and HQ statistical updates on a real-time basis. To successfully design and conduct such a study requires exceptional project implementation talent and sophisticated hardware and software design capabilities.

DDC’s Online Survey Project Implementation Talent:

DDC Research maintains a staff of senior engineers and WEB developers to create solutions for our customers’ needs. This team is experienced in creating large scale survey solutions that incorporate heavy reporting and dashboard elements. This development talent means we can quickly create robust and secure solutions for even the most demanding projects. In spite of this expertise, our technical team is light and agile enough to provide every client with the professional service needed to fulfill their objective no matter its size or scope.

DDC’s Online Survey Hardware Resources:

DDC Research maintains a physically secure server facility with a bank of discrete World Wide Web, database, and application servers. When a study is implemented each customer receives their own isolated and dedicated equipment. This configuration assures our customers of data security and of application/database isolation. Further, it ensures that each customer’s project is given the individual system resources and administrative attention it deserves.

Service Levels:

At normal service agreement levels, we support standby recovery for system failure. This means that we can have the customer’s study back in operation quickly, usually within minutes of a problem. At an extended service level, we offer 99.9% availability with redundant servers and internet paths. This service level is required for customer’s that need a solution that is nearly always available and therefore justifies the additional expense.

Analysis and Reporting:

Collecting data is a major part of the total solution offered by DDC Research, but our skills go beyond data collection, to data compilation, analysis, and interpretation. We offer on-line reporting and on-line real time survey analysis, and a host of post survey analysis options. We have the On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) solutions in place to quickly analyze data and then compile deliverable and actionable reports.